America Panda Review

Title: American Panda

Author: Gloria Chao

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 02 July 2019

Source: Jonathan Ball Publisher

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?

Book Review:

Pre-reading Thoughts:

American Panda was one of those books that made a lot of waves when it initially came out. However, once the initial buzz faded, not many people talked about the book thereafter. 

Personally, I need a cute contemporary to keep the reading going because at the moment... It is not actually going... This is one of those things that I am hoping will get me back into the reading mood as well as the blogging mood. 

Thank you so much to Jonathan Ball Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book. Please note that I have received this book for free. This will not affect my opinions in any way. All opinions are my own. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I liked American Panda. I could see where the hype was coming from during the initial release of the book. I will say that there were moments in which I disconnected from the writing due to the pacing, however, it was easy to get back into after the disconnect. The characters were easy to like but they did seem very surface at some points. The main character Mei definitely made the book for me. There were moments where I could relate to her uncertainty relating to what she should do in her future and her feelings surrounding her parents. I felt like she was my thoughts and feelings on a page, especially in certain situations. I would definitely recommend American Panda simply because it is a great almost coming of age novel. It was both insightful and a great read. Thank you once again to Jonathan Ball Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book!

Yours in Reading,

Melleny